Facilitated by David Bailey and Brenda Long, featuring Delegates Avoli, Runion, and Simonds.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
Virginia Tech Thinkabit Intern is a National Energy Careers Winner
Our Intern Shaurya Bedi is a National Energy Careers Winner!
The Center for Energy Workforce Development announced its individual and team winners for the Summer STEM Challenge for videos featuring Energy Careers. Our own Shaurya Bedi was an individual winner.
2020 Summer Intern Challenge Winners Selected |
CEWD announced the winners of its 2020 Summer Intern Challenge, a contest that invited students to create brief videos about careers in energy. We were energized by what we saw! Individual Category
Team Category
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A new STEM Innovation Challenge will debut in January, allowing energy companies and their education partners to put participation plans together over the new several months. Learn more here.
Monday, October 12, 2020
Foundations of STEM Education - Dyslexic Edge Conference October 12-17, 2020
Please register for the Dyslexic Edge conference this week. https://www.thedyslexicedge.org/
This recorded presentation provides a brief overview of STEM education, emphasizing strategies and opportunities for dyslexic students and other twice-exceptional learners.
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Searching for Relevant Research - Starting with Google
This video was created for Prince George's County high school seniors research their academic, career or personal interests in science and engineering.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
Make Your Own Pandemics Mobile App
The strategies shared in this video will help you make a mobile app for aggregating just about any online data you wish to share (Pandemics tracking, Sports or Weather or News tracking, or access to online schedules, notebooks, timesheets, etc.).
Go to MIT's free App Inventor setup instructions at https://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/ai2/setup
Please use Pause and Rewind as often as necessary to understand each step.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
New Standards for Technology Literacy
While many states have adopted their own standards for technology integration, others have adopted the updated ISTE standards.
Newly published ITEEA Technological Literacy Standards
- published this summer (replaced 3rd edition): https://www.iteea.org/stel.aspx
- for students
- for educators
- for education leaders
- for coaches
- and teacher computational thinking competencies
Monday, September 14, 2020
Four IOT-focused skills virtual summer camps with Arlington Public Schools students
Our DC Metro Area STEM and STEAM Outreach efforts this summer included four virtual camps coordinated with students from the Arlington Career Center, Arlington Tech, Gunston MS, H-B Woodlawn, Jefferson MS, Kenmore MS, Wakefield HS, and Washington-Liberty HS. The Virginia Tech Thinkabit Team collaborated with school-based Equity and Excellence Coordinators and STEM and CTE teachers to recruit participants.
All camps had a focus on computer-science, robotics, technical careers and college exploration, and an emphasis on innovation in IOT (the Internet of Things).
A Wearable Tech Camp in mid-July involved the use of Arduino and Micro:Bit microprocessors and programming in Ardunio's C-based IDE, and also the use of Scratch and Microsoft MakeCode, with some participants experimenting with MicroPython. The products were technology that could be worn, including hand-built pedometers and other motion detection, alters and warning systems, and Bluetooth-connected devices.
A similar Technology for Good Camp at the end of July provided more open-ended explorations of sensors, indicators, and actuators.
In early August, an Urban Agriculture and Environmental Monitoring Technology Camp emphasized how technology could make agriculture safer and more productive, and how monitoring technologies could be used to protect growing systems and monitor environmental changes.
Finally, in late August to early September, the Virginia Tech team partnered with faculty from Howard University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro to pilot a Creative Technologies and Digital Storytelling (Digital Media) Camp to make the connections between entertainment and advanced communications and training using the same microelectronics tools. Participants then used online video editing tools to create short ads or movies depicting their devices.
Thursday, July 30, 2020
STEM Education Partnership with Alexandria City Schools
from VT.edu/innovationcampus:
- Enhancing the science curriculum across elementary school years.
- Providing support and professional learning to staff at the city’s two STEM-focused elementary schools, Cora Kelly School for Math, Science, and Technology and Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School, to refine their teaching.
- Middle school STEM exploration, including alignment of afterschool and summer programs.
- The continuation of developing pathways from high school to college for low-income, underrepresented and first-generation students.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Bicycle Safety Warning System Senior Project by Mickeyla and Roger
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Virtual Summer Camp Registration
July 13-16, 10am to 12 noon and 2pm to 3pm (with mid-day offline flex time)
Sliding Doors STEM and Dyslexia Center (SD2): SD2 provides highly engaging STEM content throughout the year and hosts annual programs in our Lab for students and educators.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Michelle Korenfeld - 5 E's for PBL & Social and Emotional Learning
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Thursday, May 7, 2020
Beyond the Box - One Year Ago Today
If you haven't read it yet, please read it. Don't wait until you have a concern to begin exploring all the options and resources provided by your school district. Beyond the Box by Paula Lazor, Producer of Education Innovations at WERA 96.7 FM (@lazorcte54) Mascot Books - www.mascotbooks.com or of course, Amazon.com |
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Projects with Real Products for Real Needs
Head bands for face shields |
Last year we invested in two mid-priced 3D printers ($700-$800) and shared an informal policy of designing and printing things that have real utility. We reflect on that broadly and only rarely have to steer someone from creating something cute toward something that is instead interesting and functional.
Packaged for NoVA Labs |
Our network of career and technical education (CTE) and STEM teachers and other education experts nearly always seem to have similar orientations, and we realize we are teaching the students who will soon be able to enroll in their courses in middle school and high school as they choose among many other tempting elective course options (e.g., Art, Photography, Chorus, Band, Orchestra). Like those teachers, we also embrace the idea that lab projects can and should result in real products, even better if those products met a real need in the community.
Accordingly, we are active in those local, state and national agencies and organizations that represent those educators and stay in touch regularly. Many like Rob Dudek, Topher Paterno, Cassidy Nolan, Danielle Meyer, Matt Cupples, and Kris Martini provided ideas and support and were on the
Monday, April 27, 2020
Internship cancelled?
We liked this by Sonia Begum on LinkedIn.com today from www.SoniaBegum.com:
Students if you had your internship cancelled this is what you should be doing:
1. Look into volunteer remote opportunities. There's plenty on LinkedIn under the volunteer column. Volunteering can be an excellent way to learn and use it as experience on your resume.
2. Start a side business. Are you good at social media, data analysis or maybe designing a website? Start offering it as a low cost service. My first LinkedIn consults were for $4.95 for a 15min call with me.
3. Work on a summer project. There are a billion projects you can find on the internet. Find one and do it!
4. DO SOMETHING. Anything is better than nothing. You can't change what happened but you can make the best of it.
:
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Thinkabit's first Graduate Assistant now in the spotlight
DAC Student Spotlight: Andreea Sistrunk
When Andreea Sistrunk started taking classes at Virginia Tech in the fall of 2014 she had left her job as a full time teacher in Northern Virginia to devote more time to her two young daughters, ages three and seven.
Andreea Sistrunk, DAC Ph.D. student in Computer Science |
Sistrunk was drawn to computer science. She held a bachelor of science degree in engineering with a minor in childhood education from University Polytechnica in Bucharest, Romania, and was a licensed teacher for K-12 and Advanced Placement classes in mathematics, computer science, and technology.
From that course, she eventually applied to the Computer Science program and earned a master’s degree with a concentration in data analytics in Fall 2019. Currently, Sistrunk is in the Ph.D. program and a student at the Discovery Analytics Center, where her advisor is Naren Ramakrishnan.
Sistrunk has gone back to work full time as a research scientist in a laboratory outside of the
Monday, April 6, 2020
2020 Technovation Competition Cancelled
Christina Bujoreanu, Luda Bujoreanu, and Leah Davidson with Jim Egenrieder |
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
A message from President Sands
A message from @VTSandsman on supporting our fellow Hokies and our community by respecting social distance. In doing so, we protect the most vulnerable among us and safeguard our healthcare system. pic.twitter.com/C5x9UV1FIA— Virginia Tech (@virginia_tech) March 17, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Boolean Girls - Full STEM Ahead - Episode 3 - Intro to Python - Turtle
Monday, March 16, 2020
Boolean Girls Full STEM Ahead Episode 2 - Ghosts and Wizard
Episode 2: Ghosts and Wizard
Learn how to:
– Use Broadcast and Receive
– Use the mouse to maneuver your sprite
– Use random numbers
- Add scoring
Replay the Episode
Free Online Resources When Stuck Inside
Academic Earth – VARIETY - Links to thousands of free university-level lectures and course
materials from over 20 highly regarded universities.
Alison – VARIETY - Free online courses in all subjects. There is a course called
all about the coronavirus.
Boolean Girls – PROGRAMMING - Register for our free, live instructor-led online series.
Kids learn to Code, Build, Invent, and Animate, and each episode is age-appropriately
tailored for ages 8 to 18.
Codecademy – PROGRAMMING - Learn in‐demand skills like coding in different programming
languages, web development, design, and data science. Free access to basic lessons, with the
option to pay for more advanced courses.
Coursera – VARIETY - provides a wide range of courses created by various colleges and
universities, including many that are free.
Duolingo – LANGUAGES - If you or your child are interested in learning a new language,
Duolingo offers free online learning tools in 36 languages.
Edx – VARIETY - Access to free online courses delivered by a consortium of leading colleges
and universities. Learn college‐level content in computer science, engineering, and robotics,
among others.
Khan Academy – VARIETY - free YouTube instructional videos in a wide range of content
areas, including all levels of mathematics, English language arts, science, history, computer
science and programming, and SAT preparation. Content is aligned with state curriculum
standards, and parents can view and track their children’s progress.
Local Libraries – VARIETY - explore the many other digital resources your local library likely
offers. Many public libraries provide free access to e‑books, streaming films and music, digital
magazines, and even language learning resources, such as Mango.
Lynda.com – VARIETY - available for free through many public libraries, Lynda.com has an
array of online learning resources in subject areas ranging from photography to business to
web development. Log into your local library for access details.
Marginal Revolution University (MRU) - ECONOMICS – Economics isn’t always taught at
the K‑12 level, but the dynamic, self‐paced introductory economics courses offered for free
through MRU are likely to pique your older child’s interest.
Mystery Science – SCIENCE - Mystery Science has free memberships for up to one year.
Video lessons are complemented by hands‐on experiments and downloadable activities.
No Red Ink – WRITING - free, online writing and grammar resource helps students of all
ages to practice and refine their writing skills. Parents can sign up as a teacher (you can
use your home as a school), create a learner profile for your child, and then allow a
child to log in to the student account and get practicing.
Open Culture – VARIETY - Access 1,500 free, online audio and video courses from
recognized universities, and access more than 1,000 free audio books.
Prodigy Math – MATH - Free and used by many schools for online math support. This
uses a video game‐style interface to engage learners. Users create characters and
conquer challenges using math aligned with their skill level and grade-level competencies.
The paid version offers more math and allows parents and teachers to customize
additional features.
Smithsonian Institution – VARIETY - An example of what many museums are offering,
the Smithsonian Institution’s open access Learning Lab offers free, online resources and
activities for learners.
TED‐Ed – VARIETY - a free collection of high‐quality videos on a variety of topics for
learners of all ages, including supplemental materials, discussion questions, and
opportunities to probe deeper. Register as an educator and you can help to customize
your student’s learning experience, or let your kid explore independently.
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Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Boolean Girls Full STEM Ahead - Episode 1 Pong
https://booleangirl.org/full-stem-ahead/
Episode 1: Pong
- Log in to scratch, create code and save your work;
- Use events to make a Sprite move;
- Use variables to keep score; and
- Use conditionals to know when to make something happen.
Saturday, March 7, 2020
Drew Elementary Makerspace featured on WERA's Education Innovations
Our collaborators at Drew Elementary, Rachel Landry and Joel Gildea talk about elementary makerspaces with WERA's Paula Lazor.
Education Innovations, Saturdays 2:30-3pm on www.wera.fm.
See more at https://www.mixcloud.com/EducationInnovations/ or https://twitter.com/lazorcte54